In Parliament on Monday, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden MP twice made a claim comparing the current employment rate with that under the Conservatives.
He told a Conservative MP that “the employment rate in the UK is higher today than in all but one of the 14 years when his party was in power”, then in response to a different question moments later said “the employment rate in the UK today is higher than in every year but one of the Conservatives’ 14 years in power”.
This isn’t correct, according to official figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). They show that the UK’s employment rate was higher in two years during the Conservatives’ 14 years in government than it is currently. It was also at the same level as it is currently in a further three years, when rounded to one decimal place.
We’ve contacted the Department for Work and Pensions about Mr McFadden’s comments, and will update this fact check if we hear back. But they are not supported by the headline employment rate data published by the ONS.
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The latest available estimate of the employment rate for 16-64 year olds, based on Labour Force Survey data, is that it was 75.1% from May to July 2026. The same figure also applies to the most recent quarter (Q2 2026) and the most recent full calendar year (2025).
Between 2010 and 2024, the annual employment rate was higher than this twice. In 2018 it was 75.5%, and in 2019 it was 76.1%.
In 2020, 2022 and 2023, the employment rate was estimated to be 75.1%—the same level as it is currently—when rounded to one decimal place. We’ve not found unrounded figures to indicate whether the rate was slightly higher or lower in these years compared than currently, and have asked the ONS for more information.
It’s worth noting that Labour Force Survey data was affected by lower than usual response rates after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ONS advises caution when assessing changes over time periods.
